Dell PowerEdge 2850 with RHEL3, need help choosing the Fibre Channel HBA
I am going to purchase a new Dell PowerEdge 2850 server with RedHat Enterprise Linux 3 and I need some help selecting a Fibre Channel Host Bus Adapter (HBA). I have never used Fibre Channel HBA's before, but the device that we are going to connect has multiple 2Gb channels but we will only use one. I understand that in theory a 2Gb fibre channel HBA is enough, but what else do I need to look for?
- I want to buy one that is available on Dell.com so that I can get it installed and shipped by Dell.
- What brand should I buy with my setup?
- What I am looking for on these HBA adapters, do I use PCI or PCI-E?
- Is PCI-X and PCI-E both the same (PCI-Express)?
- Any other helpful info you can give me.
Here is the page at Dell.com that lists all the Adapters:
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productlisting.aspx?c=us&l=en&cs=04&category_id=5757&first=true
I see EMULEX and QLOGIC, and I have read here at Experts Exchange already that RedHat seems to have brilliant support for QLOGIC, but didn't dig deeper.
Again, this is the first time I am using a Fibre Channel HBA and I have got no idea about it. This is a server I purchase for a remote location, so I will probably never be able to touch it.
Here is the exact server setup from Dell for your reference:
PowerEdge 2850 Dual Core Intel® Xeon™ Processor, 2x2MB Cache, 2.8GHz, 800MHz FSB
Operating System Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES v.3, 1 Year Red Hat Network Subscription
Additional Processor Dual Core Intel® Xeon™ Processor, 2x2MB Cache, 2.8GHz, 800MHz FSB
Memory 8GB DDR2 400MHz (4X2GB), Dual Ranked DIMMs
Keyboard No Keyboard Option
Monitor No Monitor Option
Riser Card Riser with ROMB and PCI-E Support
Primary Hard Drive 73GB 15K RPM Ultra 320 SCSI Hard Drive
Primary Controller Embedded RAID (ROMB) - PERC4e/Di (Embedded Integrated)
Floppy Drive 1.44MB Floppy Drive
Mouse No Mouse Option
Network Adapter Dual On-Board NICs
Remote Management Dell Remote Access Card, 4th Generation for PowerEdge
CD/DVD Drive 24X IDE CD-ROM
Bezel Active ID Bezel Option
Hard Drive Backplane 1x6 Hard Drive Backplane,PE2850
Documentation Electronic Documentation and OpenManage CD Kit
2nd Hard Drive 73GB 15K RPM Ultra 320 SCSI Hard Drive
3rd Hard Drive 73GB 15K RPM Ultra 320 SCSI Hard Drive
4th Hard Drive 73GB 15K RPM Ultra 320 SCSI Hard Drive
5th Hard Drive 73GB 15K RPM Ultra 320 SCSI Hard Drive
Hard Drive Configuration Drives attached to embedded PERC4e/Di, RAID 10, 4 Drives required
Chassis Configuration Rack Chassis w/Versarail, RoundHole-Universal for 3rd-party racks, PE2850
Hardware Support Services 3Yr BASIC NBD: L1 Hardware Queue, Next Business Day Onsite M-F 8am-6pm
Installation Support Services No Installation Assessment
Power Supply Redundant Power Supply With Dual Cords (No Y Cord)
Thanks!
- I want to buy one that is available on Dell.com so that I can get it installed and shipped by Dell.
- What brand should I buy with my setup?
- What I am looking for on these HBA adapters, do I use PCI or PCI-E?
- Is PCI-X and PCI-E both the same (PCI-Express)?
- Any other helpful info you can give me.
Here is the page at Dell.com that lists all the Adapters:
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productlisting.aspx?c=us&l=en&cs=04&category_id=5757&first=true
I see EMULEX and QLOGIC, and I have read here at Experts Exchange already that RedHat seems to have brilliant support for QLOGIC, but didn't dig deeper.
Again, this is the first time I am using a Fibre Channel HBA and I have got no idea about it. This is a server I purchase for a remote location, so I will probably never be able to touch it.
Here is the exact server setup from Dell for your reference:
PowerEdge 2850 Dual Core Intel® Xeon™ Processor, 2x2MB Cache, 2.8GHz, 800MHz FSB
Operating System Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES v.3, 1 Year Red Hat Network Subscription
Additional Processor Dual Core Intel® Xeon™ Processor, 2x2MB Cache, 2.8GHz, 800MHz FSB
Memory 8GB DDR2 400MHz (4X2GB), Dual Ranked DIMMs
Keyboard No Keyboard Option
Monitor No Monitor Option
Riser Card Riser with ROMB and PCI-E Support
Primary Hard Drive 73GB 15K RPM Ultra 320 SCSI Hard Drive
Primary Controller Embedded RAID (ROMB) - PERC4e/Di (Embedded Integrated)
Floppy Drive 1.44MB Floppy Drive
Mouse No Mouse Option
Network Adapter Dual On-Board NICs
Remote Management Dell Remote Access Card, 4th Generation for PowerEdge
CD/DVD Drive 24X IDE CD-ROM
Bezel Active ID Bezel Option
Hard Drive Backplane 1x6 Hard Drive Backplane,PE2850
Documentation Electronic Documentation and OpenManage CD Kit
2nd Hard Drive 73GB 15K RPM Ultra 320 SCSI Hard Drive
3rd Hard Drive 73GB 15K RPM Ultra 320 SCSI Hard Drive
4th Hard Drive 73GB 15K RPM Ultra 320 SCSI Hard Drive
5th Hard Drive 73GB 15K RPM Ultra 320 SCSI Hard Drive
Hard Drive Configuration Drives attached to embedded PERC4e/Di, RAID 10, 4 Drives required
Chassis Configuration Rack Chassis w/Versarail, RoundHole-Universal for 3rd-party racks, PE2850
Hardware Support Services 3Yr BASIC NBD: L1 Hardware Queue, Next Business Day Onsite M-F 8am-6pm
Installation Support Services No Installation Assessment
Power Supply Redundant Power Supply With Dual Cords (No Y Cord)
Thanks!
simsjrg
I have has success with Emulex on a PowerEdge 2600 running RHEL4. I have had it pickup the card during the install and have also had it pick it up prior to install. No headaches which made me quite happy.
Emulex is a good pic, solid product and it is the HBA EMC OEMs, which is what Dell OEMs from EMC.
The real determinator is the storage array you are going to connect to. Different manufacturers have different support for HBA's but it's based on the storage array. Emulex and Qlogic will work equally well--it's just that there may not be official support for one from the manufacturer. Also, the storage vendors will have their own qualified drivers, and a method to install. I always prefer to build a driver separate from the kernel, and load it in on boot. That way, you don't have to remember to include it whenever you upgrade your kernel (and you don't have to custom compile each kernel!)
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Thank you for your answers. We will switch to a more powerful server model in this case.
We plan to connect to a RamSan (Solid State Memory) from Texas Memory Systems (SuperSSD.com). It comes with FC-65 controllers installed. Dell also sells them:
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/ProductDetail.aspx?sku=A0293279&c=us&l=en&cs=555&category_id=5992&first=true&page=productlisting.aspx
Which card from Dell would you suggest in order to connect to the FC-65?
We plan to connect to a RamSan (Solid State Memory) from Texas Memory Systems (SuperSSD.com). It comes with FC-65 controllers installed. Dell also sells them:
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/ProductDetail.aspx?sku=A0293279&c=us&l=en&cs=555&category_id=5992&first=true&page=productlisting.aspx
Which card from Dell would you suggest in order to connect to the FC-65?
the best thing wht i would suggest is to have one unique vendor if you have decided for Dell then you could go for both Server and Storage from Dell itself. i have a SAN with CX700, PE2850, PE6850's with Qlogic Cards and the MC Data Switches all from Dell and running RHEL4 touch wood should say they are just great.
Glad to be of assistance!